Vehicles are designed and tested for crashworthiness. One parameter in testing vehicle design is the extent of any intrusion into a passenger compartment of a vehicle as a result of a crash test. Intrusions may be measured in a variety of locations, including areas identified, for example, as the toe pan, brake pedal, instrument panel, footrest and door opening.
Frontal crash tests focus on impacts with objects that are centrally located between the frame rails of the vehicle. The bumper beam of a vehicle is generally secured to the vehicle frame through crush cans, or other intervening structures, that are designed to absorb energy. Crush cans absorb impact energy by progressively collapsing. The extent or possibility of any intrusion of an object into the passenger compartment is reduced by the energy absorbed by the crash cans.
Recently, more stringent standards have been proposed that are designed to test a vehicle in a 40 mph crash with an object that is located in the outer one-fourth of the transverse width of the vehicle. Impacts in this area may be outboard of the vehicle frame. It is not feasible to provide additional crush cans in this area to absorb the impact because the crush cans are not backed by the vehicle frame that is disposed laterally inboard of the object.
There is a need to improve the crashworthiness of vehicles involved in a collision with a small offset object. This disclosure addresses the above problems and challenges relating to vehicle design. The extent of intrusion in the event of an offset impact is intended to be reduced by applying the disclosed concept as summarized below and with reference to the illustrated embodiments.